Casino gambling involves many different games of chance. Some casino games involve playing cards that are used in competition with the casino or against other players. In the most popular casino games, players compete against the casino, the games are fast-paced, provide more than one opportunity to win and the bets are resolved quickly. Generally, the shorter the time between placing a bet and the winning of a hand, the more popular the game.
Some casino card games are variations on poker, blackjack or baccarat in which winning hands are determined according to generally accepted rules of card value and rank. In baccarat and blackjack, the face cards are assigned numerical values. In blackjack, the object is to beat the dealer by scoring more than the dealer, but no more than twenty one. Additionally, blackjack may produce more than one winning hand during a round of play. Baccarat is a scoring game wherein the players play against each other in an effort to score as close to nine as possible. In poker, various combinations of cards determine the winner of each round and there is only one winning hand in each round of play.
Popular casino games based on the strategy and card priority of poker provide multiple opportunities to win. Caribbean Stud, a five-card poker game currently played in casinos, provides more than one chance to win with a particular hand. A limitation on the play of Caribbean Stud is the requirement for the dealer to have a qualifying hand, e.g., Ace-King. A player""s hand may be a winner, but the player may lose the opportunity to receive a large payout because the dealer did not receive a qualifying hand.
Another popular casino game comparable to Caribbean Stud is Let It Ride, a game based on poker strategy and card priority. In the play of Let It Ride, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,462, three cards are dealt to the player and two to the dealer. The player then combines his cards with the dealer""s cards to produce a poker hand. Let It Ride is popular because of its fast-paced play, simple strategies, the opportunity to participate in an additional jackpot and multiple opportunities to win in the same hand.
A limitation on the play of Let It Ride is the apparent complexity of the betting. Three bets are placed on each hand with two of the bets being resolved, or withdrawn by the player, during three stages of play. A fourth bet is a bonus jackpot bet and is forfeited if the player does not receive a bonus hand. A prospective player must overcome his reluctance to wager three times on one hand to begin play. The option to withdraw a portion of the wager is not productive for the casinoxe2x80x94the player is allowed to take back a portion of the bet that has already been committed.
The highest ranked poker hand is a winner for both Caribbean Stud and Let It Ride. Based on the method of betting, both games allow multiple opportunities to win and generally meet the requirements for a popular casino game. However, the dealer-qualifying requirement of Caribbean Stud and the complexities of the betting requirements of Let It Ride are discouraging to the average player.
Other wagering card game methods are known. For example in Padukee, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,414, the player places two bets plus a bonus jackpot wager.
The wagering card game of the present invention is played with a deck of fifty-two playing cards, preferably a poker deck, and a count limit card or a representation of a count limit card having a predetermined count value N, where N is a whole number, for example 3. Preferably, the wagering card game of the present invention is played with cards drawn one at a time from a shoe containing six poker decks. Each playing card is assigned a count value with the numbered cards having the corresponding whole number values 2 through 10, respectively; the face cards (King, Queen, Jack) each having an assigned count value of ten; and each Ace having an assigned count value of one. Only one count limit card or representation thereof is utilized and it is permanently assigned as the third card of the dealer""s hand.
Each player wagers a minimum amount by posting his total bet in a wager circle provided on a playing surface. Each player may then pay an ante stake for the right to participate in a bonus payout. The dealer deals three cards, face down, to all the players, the dealer and to the bonus hand card dock. Each player picks up his cards and evaluates them for further play.
Each player then has the following options: (1) if the player is satisfied with the three cards dealt to him he places them next to his bet; or, (2) if the player is not satisfied with the cards he was dealt he may trade one of his cards for a new card. The dealer, from left to right, one player at a time, will burn the trade card and deal a replacement card to each trade option player. After evaluating his new hand, each player will place his cards next to his bet. All players now have three cards, face down, next to their bets.
The dealer then burns his top (last dealt) card and reveals his other two dealt cards. The dealer has a numerical count value N permanently assigned as the third card of his hand by a count limit card (not taken from the game deck) or by the representation of a count limit card that is positioned or imprinted on the playing surface in the dealer""s third card dock. For example, the number xe2x80x9c3xe2x80x9d (imprinted onto the playing surface) replaces the dealer""s burned card.
The dealer combines the count of his two retained cards with the count of his assigned count limit card and announces his total score. The dealer then reveals all three cards of each player, one player at a time, totals the count of each hand and determines the winning hands. All winners are paid even money except three aces which pays 30 to 1.
To qualify for the bonus hand, a player must post a bonus ante stake (for example, $1) and have a three card total less than or equal to a predetermined count value M, where M is a whole number, for example 9. Each player whose hand totals 9 or lower and who wage red the bonus ante stake is eligible to play the bonus hand at the end of the round. A player need not have a winning hand to qualify for the bonus hand. The bonus hand is a community hand and the right to participate in the bonus payout is not contingent on winning the round.
At this time, the dealer turns over the bonus hand and announces the total. The dealer pays the qualifying players the bonus amount according to a predetermined bonus payout schedule, for example the Table II One Dollar Bonus Ante Payout Table. The bonus pay-out schedule is a matrix array or table of bonus payout values corresponding with bonus hand totals arranged along one axis and the player""s hand totals arranged along the other axis. As shown in Table II, a particular bonus payout value is located in the box corresponding with a particular bonus hand total and a particular player""s hand total.